In conventional assembly processes, a completed product may be a conglomeration of numerous individual parts, assemblies, and subassemblies. Additionally, the product may be assembled in a factory, and the product may be assembled or processed along an assembly line. Traditionally, assembly lines entail assembling a single component or conducting a single process at a dedicated assembly station along the assembly line. Thus, a line worker repetitively performs that same operation to each product as it advances down the assembly line. Further, the assembly stations are generally arranged according to a logical progression, for example, such that a subsequently added component or subsequently performed process may only be added or performed once all previous steps have been performed. Thus, if the assembly line should ever encounter difficulty at a particular assembly station, all or a portion of the assembly line becomes idle, particularly the assembly stations following the troubled station. As a result, production essentially ceases, which incurs large costs to the manufacturer not only in lost sales but also due to continuing labor costs.
Additionally, present assembly line systems are reliant upon centralized databases to store manufacturing information. For example, the centralized database may include a detailed parts list for each product to be manufactured as well as specifications associated with processes to be performed on the product or components thereof. The central database may need to be accessed at each assembly station along the assembly line to ensure that the appropriate components and processes are performed on the products. Consequently, such assembly line systems are susceptible to delays or stoppages when a problem develops with the central database. As a result, the manufacturer faces significant costs and lost profits.